The Malay face is of the Mongolian type, broad and somewhat flat.

The brows are depressed, the mouth wide, but not projecting, and the nose small and well formed but for the great dilatation of the nostrils.

The face is smooth, and rarely develops the trace of a beard; the hair black, coarse, and perfectly straight.

The Papuan, on the other hand, has a face which we may say is compressed and projecting.

The brows are protuberant and overhanging, the mouth large and prominent, while the nose is very large, the apex elongated downwards, the ridge thick, and the nostrils large.